{"id":2073,"date":"2019-03-28T14:30:36","date_gmt":"2019-03-28T19:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/?p=2073"},"modified":"2019-03-28T14:30:36","modified_gmt":"2019-03-28T19:30:36","slug":"celebrating-channy-lyons-with-gertrude-abercrombie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/2019\/03\/28\/celebrating-channy-lyons-with-gertrude-abercrombie\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating Channy Lyons with Gertrude Abercrombie:"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Bradley University hosts first Channy Lyons Memorial Lecture telling the story of Chicago artist Gertrude Abercrombie<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Kelcie Eminian and Kasey Walsh<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Members of Bradley University and the Peoria community gathered in the Hayden-Clark Alumni Center for the first annual Channy Lyons Memorial Lecture, featuring keynote speaker Dr. Susan Weininger.
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The crowd gathers in Bradley University’s Hayden-Clark Alumni Center for the first ever Channy Lyons Memorial Lecture.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Weininger is a Professor Emerita of Art History at Roosevelt University in Chicago, and visited campus Wednesday to present her lecture titled \u201cIt\u2019s Always Myself That I Paint\u201d–The Work and Life of Gertrude Abercrombie<\/a>.
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Dr. Susan Weininger delivers “It’s Always Myself That I Paint…”<\/em> on
March 27, 2019.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The evening\u2019s lecture focused on the biography and work of artist Gertrude Abercrombie<\/a>, a prominent icon in Chicago\u2019s art scene between 1930 and 1970. Abercrombie\u2019s work centered around a set of particular symbols portraying herself that carried over from piece to piece. The significance of these symbols and technique were unique to Abercrombie, which earned their being deemed her \u201cpsychic self-portraits.\u201d
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The event was sponsored by Bradley University\u2019s Department of Art and Design<\/a>, the Fine Arts Society of Peoria,<\/a> and the Illinois Women Artists Project<\/a>. Each organization focuses on the advancement and recognition of female artists, particularly those of the Midwest.
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Dr. Weininger serves as a chair advisor for the Illinois Women Artists Project in Peoria, which honored Peoria\u2019s longtime local art advocate Channy Lyons, who passed away in 2017.
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Lyons was a Peoria native who wrote the popular WCBU radio program titled \u201cPeoria\u2019s Hidden Treasures.\u201d<\/a>  She founded the Illinois Women Artists Project (IWA) in 2006, with a mission to make the stories of local artists accessible to all members of the Peoria community. From there, the project grew in contributing to national awareness of Midwest women\u2019s contributions to the arts.
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\u201cI believe I met Channy when she came up with the idea for the Illinois Women Artists Project… I became a great fan of her tireless work ethic, her devotion, and her sweet humble nature. Having her in my life was an inspiration, and collaborating with her was a joy,\u201d said Dr. Weininger.
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Dr. Weininger answers community questions about Abercrombie’s life and work in the arts.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In ensuring the advancement of the IWA, management of the project was granted to the Bradley University Department of Art in the fall of 2016. This new home in the university\u2019s department brought about the hiring of the current full time director Kristan McKinsey to oversee the project\u2019s development moving forward.
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McKinsey anticipates that the university and Peoria community will continue honoring Lyons through future events.   
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\u201cThis was the first ever Channy Lyons memorial lecture. I said \u2018first\u2019 in the hopes that we could maybe start a new tradition. She was such a passionate advocate for the arts and a well known figure in Central Illinois,\u201d said McKinsey.
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The lecture was just one of the many events that the organization puts on in the Peoria area.
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\u201cThe Fine Arts Society tries to offer at least one evening lecture each season for people who cannot attend the morning lectures, and the board likes to collaborate with other arts organizations to expand our audience and build a community,\u201d said McKinsey.
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Illinois Women’s Art Project director Kristan McKinsey introduces keynote speaker Dr. Weininger at Channy Lyons Memorial Lecture.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Lecture series like these directly link Bradley University students to the surrounding art community in the Peoria area.
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Students from a variety of different fields of study were in attendance, and many appreciated the insight into a local art figure that the lecture provided.
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\u201cIt was definitely an interesting perspective,\u201d said Sydney Ryan, a senior Art Major, \u201cI like attending events like this on campus, it\u2019s neat to hear about people who worked right here in our own community.\u201d
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IWA Director Kristan McKinsey thanks Dr. Weininger for her lecture and ends the event with a hearty handshake. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

For more information on similar events throughout the semester, visit the Slane College of Communications and Fine Arts<\/a>.
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bradley University hosts first Channy Lyons Memorial Lecture telling the story of Chicago artist Gertrude Abercrombie By Kelcie Eminian and Kasey Walsh Members of Bradley University and the Peoria community gathered in the Hayden-Clark Alumni Center for the first annual Channy Lyons Memorial Lecture, featuring keynote speaker Dr. Susan Weininger. Dr. Weininger is a Professor Emerita of Art History at Roosevelt University in Chicago, and visited campus Wednesday to present her lecture titled \u201cIt\u2019s Always Myself That I Paint\u201d–The Work and Life of Gertrude Abercrombie. The evening\u2019s lecture focused on the biography and work of artist Gertrude Abercrombie, a prominent icon in Chicago\u2019s art scene between 1930 and 1970. Abercrombie\u2019s work centered around a set of particular symbols portraying herself that carried over from piece to piece. The significance of these symbols and technique were unique to Abercrombie, which earned their being deemed her \u201cpsychic self-portraits.\u201d The event was sponsored by Bradley University\u2019s Department of Art and Design, the Fine Arts Society of Peoria, and the Illinois Women Artists Project. Each organization focuses on the advancement and recognition of female artists, particularly those of the Midwest. Dr. Weininger serves as a chair advisor for the Illinois Women Artists Project in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":255,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/255"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2073"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2073\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2134,"href":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2073\/revisions\/2134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/com.bradley.edu\/newslab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}